Is working nights linked to lower good cholesterol?
Yes—in a study of 156 healthcare workers, those working nights had lower good cholesterol than those working days.
The study compared 90 day-shift and 66 night-shift workers in southern Brazil. Researchers gathered diet, sleep, meal timing, and blood test data at one hospital. Data collection ran from July 2023 to March 2024. Night workers had lower HDL Cholesterol, often called good cholesterol, and higher blood pressure. The source did not report the size of the cholesterol difference.
Night workers also had a 135% greater likelihood of having metabolic syndrome. This means a group of health problems involving blood pressure, belly fat, and blood fats. The study captured a snapshot, rather than following people for new diagnoses. It cannot show that night work caused these differences.
Food habits differed, too. Night workers consumed more Dietary Fat and less Dietary Fiber. Their last meals were later, with more hours between first and last meals. They also spent fewer hours without food at night. Ultra-processed food intake was similar across shifts.
Among night workers, fewer hours between meals were linked to 7% lower metabolic syndrome risk. The source does not say how much shorter that eating period was. It also does not show that changing meal times raises HDL Cholesterol.
For BioSocial members, work schedules may add useful context to bloodwork trends. Logging shift hours and first and last meals could help members compare notes. Those details can highlight patterns without proving what caused a change.
What patterns have you noticed between your work shifts, meal times, and cholesterol results?
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